"8 Million Strong and Voting!" Small business is the heart beat of the United States economy. This blog searches for issues and answers to helping small business survive and thrive in California and the United States.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

It appears that the 1099 issue will not be resolved in the lame duck session.

Last night both the Johanns and Baucus amendments repealing the requirement of 1099s for all business transaction over $600 was voted down. The vote on the Johann amendment failed on a 61-35 vote and the Baucus amendment failed 44-53. The amendments required a two thirds vote because it was a waiving of Senate rules.

The Johanns amendment paid for the repeal with unused stimulus money, while the Baucus amendment had no offsets.

Small Business California and the National Small Business Association will continue to fight this in the next session of Congress. As you are all aware the requirement does not take effect until 2012.

SBA Backs Repeal of ‘Burdensome’1099 Reporting Requirements on Small Business Transactions

WASHINGTON – In an open letter to small business owners, SBA Administrator Karen Mills described requirements that small businesses report all transactions greater than $600 as “burdensome,” and called for their repeal. Mills said the reporting requirements in the Affordable Care Act, which were to have begun in 2012, add up to “too much paperwork, too much filing.”

I’m writing to update you on the progress that we have made regarding concerns stemming from the expanded 1099 reporting requirement in the Affordable Care Act, which could affect small businesses starting with 2012 purchases and 2013 filings.

The SBA and the Administration support the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act (introduced by Senator Baucus) which would repeal this provision.

As President Obama said on Nov. 3: “… the 1099 provision in the health care bill appears to be too burdensome for small businesses. It just involves too much paperwork, too much filing. It’s probably counterproductive.” Our support for the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act also follows the Administration’s support in September for Senate Amendment 4595 (offered by Senator Bill Nelson), which would have relaxed the reporting requirement.

All businesses that pay another individual or business $600 or more for goods or services starting in 2012 will be required to issue 1099s. The unintended consequence of a potential paperwork burden resulting from this provision quickly came to light, and we immediately began working across the Administration to reduce the burden of these potential future reporting requirements, as I noted in a letter to small businesses in May.

We gathered feedback and comments from the small business community through roundtables, forums, and other feedback mechanisms involving outreach from the SBA, the Treasury Department, the I.R.S. and others.

Importantly, the repeal of this provision through the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act will not adversely affect the Affordable Care Act, which provides important health care benefits to millions of Americans. Small businesses are already taking advantage of the new tax credits for providing health insurance to employees this year, and future benefits such as the insurance exchanges in 2013 will provide small businesses with more negotiating power and reduced administrative costs.

Thank you for the input and feedback that many of you have provided on the impact that the expanded 1099 reporting requirement could have on your business. Overall, with your help, we will continue to ensure that America’s entrepreneurs and small business owners operate in an environment not burdened by excessive regulation, allowing you to continue doing what you do best: grow businesses, create jobs and lead America’s economic recovery.

Small Business California has been contacted by Assemblymember Mike Feuer’s office for things his office can do to help small businesses in California. Please give me your thoughts.

See below email I received.

Scott,

Assemblymember Feuer is very interested in the views of your member business owners regarding what the Legislature can do to help small businesses grow and prosper. We believe the success of small businesses is essential to California's economic recovery and want to identify burdensome rules, regulations, and/or paperwork that create challenges for small businesses but that provide little or no value in terms of broader societal benefits. The more specific your members' ideas, the better.

Obviously, we are committed to maintaining laws that provide strong consumer, worker, and environmental protections. But not every rule or regulation serves such a significant purpose. It is important to contrast what is merely bureaucratic with what is essential during these challenging economic times.

It would also be helpful to get the views of your members on what they think the state can do to provide greater affirmative assistance to small businesses. For example, Mr. Feuer was very displeased to read a news account of the plight of a California business which needed, but couldn't get, help navigating processes to compete for federal funding made available to combat the recession.

Clearly the state has very little, if any, funding for any new program, but we could potentially consider reallocating money from existing services. In any event, it would be good to know your views on what programs or services best meet the needs of California small businesses. We look forward to your feedback.Thank you.

Friday, November 19, 2010

The Insurance Commissioner has denied any workers compensation pure loss rate increase. The insurance companies don’t have to accept this and many of the companies have filed their rates for January 1. Most are relatively small with State Fund asking for a little over 5%. See below.

The 1099 issue continues to percolate in Washington. It appears there will have to be an offset of the $17 to $19 billion and this is where the legislation to repeal could come into trouble.

'NO RATE INCREASE!' SAYS POIZNER Share:California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has abjectly denied any increase in the workers' comp pure premium rate. This is despite a request for a 27.7% increase from the privately owned Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California.Saying that workers' comp is like a tax on employers and that the 2004 reforms have not been fully implemented Poizner also acknowledged medical cost inflation and other cost drivers but says carriers have not done enough to control costs.

Poizner also said that he has asked WCIRB to provide more data as to the profitability of carriers and that this should be part of any increase rate consideration. Compline filed a report showing that the industry was profitable in 2009 despite the $1.5B estimated underwriting loss the WCIRB provided, of which State Fund was nearly half. State Fund also represented over 1/3 of the profits carriers had in the line for 2009.

Workers' Comp Executive will have a broader news and analysis story on Monday.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Good news. I have just received a copy of S3946 the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act.

This is the Senator Baucus bill that repeals the requirement of filing 1099s on all transactions over $600. I am pleased to tell you this is a full repeal and does not include any additional offsets to make up for the projected $17 billion revenues the Congressional Budget Office said the filings would generate.

In a conversation this morning with Senator Feinstein’s office I was told the Senator has been very clear she supports a repeal of the 1099 provision but he had not talked to her about the specifics of the Baucus bill. Senator Boxer has also told me she supports repeal but I have not talked to her office about the specifics of the Baucus bill.

Small Business California is pushing hard for this to get passed in the lame duck session.

Another bit of good news a new amendment was put forth Monday that allows small businesses to switch carriers and retain their Grandfathered status. Previously under the health bill this change of carriers would mean the loss of grandfathered status.

Monday, November 15, 2010

On Firday, Senator Max Baucus introduced legislation to repeal the filing of 1099s on transactions over $600. It is not clear the details but it appears to be a full repeal. Small Business California and the National Small Business Association will be closely watching this and supporting full repeal.

As this email goes to Senator Feinstein and Senator Boxers office we ask whether the Senators will support this bill. I will let all of you know their responses.

Friday I met with Dr Winslow Sargeant head of SBA Office of Advocacy. We talked about the study of bank lending and he assured me this is in process. Dr Sargeant is going to take a lot of heat on this and therefore he will need the support of small businesses and associations representing small business from around the country.

We also talked about the 1099 issue and he clearly understands the problem.

Please see below article written by a past Small Business Advocate Tom Sullivan. Dr Sargeant has only been in his position a few months but he has already been in the forefront getting the voice of small business out. His regulatory study showing that small businesses pay significantly more than larger companies to comply with regulations will be extremely helpful when we talk to our legislators.

Small business is a hot topic in Washington. In September, Congress created a $30 billion small business lending program intended to jump-start business expansion. Republicans and Democrats then left Washington and campaigned on how their respective approaches would help small business. Finally, 80% of the pro small business candidates endorsed by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) won their elections.

While candidates were telling voters how they would fight for small business, the Chief Counsel for Advocacy at the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) was already engaged in battle. Dr. Winslow Sargeant’s first 3-months as the federal government’s small business watchdog tells a story that the new Congress will certainly want to hear.

The Chief Counsel for Advocacy is responsible for advocating for small business, even when the beliefs of the small business community are at odds with the White House. The power to independently represent the views of entrepreneurs is manifested through the Office of Advocacy’s research papers and through public comments submitted to agencies on how regulations can be tailored to minimize costs on small firms while maximizing their regulatory intentions.

The day Dr. Winslow Sargeant was sworn in, he sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) critical of how the agency is using the Clean Air Act to regulate small business. A few weeks later, Dr. Sargeant hosted an all-day conference on how agencies must carefully consider their impacts on small business before imposing federal mandates. President Obama’s top regulatory official, Cass Sunstein, reinforced the value of Dr. Sargeant’s work during his luncheon talk at the event.

On the same day as the Office of Advocacy’s conference, Dr. Sargeant released a report showing the disproportionate cost of regulation on small business. The research, conducted by Nicole Crain and W. Mark Crain, documents the shocking reality of our regulatory system. The total cost of complying with federal regulations is over $1.75 trillion. With small business shouldering costs 36% more than their larger business competitors, the burden amounts to $15,586 per household. That is more than the one and a half times what households pay for medical treatments. Most alarming, is the fact that in the four years studied, the cost of complying with federal regulations rose faster than the per-household cost of medical care.

The study on how federal mandates impact small business is impressive in itself. Since September, Dr. Sargeant’s research team issued three other reports, ranging from a summary of small business factoids, to a historical sketch of small business and economic development dating back to 1953. The study on how federal mandates impact small firms is the highlight of Dr. Sargeant’s short tenure. Not only did the Office of Advocacy release a report that shows, in stark terms, the depth of the regulatory problem, his team is doing something about it.

In his first 63 days as Chief Counsel, Dr. Sargeant signed 7 public comment letters that hold federal agencies accountable for their impact on small business. The letters, sent to EPA, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Department of Education, and the Department of Labor amplify the concerns of small businesses that are struggling to keep up with rules and regulations flowing out of Washington.

Dr. Sargeant’s efforts show how his office is listening to small business and the elections last week served as a wake-up call to politicians who may not have heeded the same advice. Congressional committees will likely echo that wake-up call and demand that agencies search for ways to improve workplace safety, environmental protection, and access to credit without burying entrepreneurs under mountains of paperwork and regulatory costs. Those are the same demands coming from Dr. Winslow Sargeant and SBA’s Office of Advocacy.

The call for agencies to lighten the burden of federal mandates on small business is the consistent plea from SBA’s Office of Advocacy. That message becomes even more powerful when amplified by Congress. Dr. Winslow Sargeant’s first few months as Chief Counsel for Advocacy provide him with a track record that tells the new Congress they have a friend inside the federal government when it comes to helping small business.

Tom Sullivan is an attorney with the law firm of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough where he runs the Small Business Coalition for Regulatory Relief. He served as Chief Counsel for Advocacy from 2002-2008.

Tuesday, November 09, 2010

Small Business California continues to work on repeal of the 1099 requirement that was incorporated in the Health bill passed in March. This as you recall will requires businesses to file 1099s on transactions over $600.

We were particularly pleased to see President Obama say last week that he would like to work with Republicans on changing this provision.

Small Business California sent an email today to Michael Bernich to deliver to the Governor elects people requesting that the Governor focus on getting access to capital to small business. There is a unique opportunity for Jerry Brown with the passage of the Small Business Jobs bill and the trailer bill passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Schwarzenegger to help small businesses in this area. We requested that the Governor convene a meeting with lenders and Karen Mills the SBA Administrator to discuss strategies on how this money can best be used.

We also requested that the Governor work closely with the Small Business Development Centers around the state to outreach to lenders and small business borrowers letting them know about the availability of this money.

On Friday I will be meeting with Winslow Sargeant the Director of the SBA Office of Advocacy. As I have mentioned before Small Business California has requested that he do a report on how banks especially big banks like Bank of America are lending to small businesses. He has assured me that he is in the process of doing this.

Small Business California has also asked that he look into why the SBA has not designated a person to meet the requirements required under the energy bills of 2005 and 2007. These bills required the SBA to work with government agencies in developing energy policies that will help small business. One policy mentioned in the energy bill of 2007 was assistance in developing On Bill Financing around the country. As you all know Small Business California brought On Bill Financing to California.

Saving the best for last today is the formal grand opening of Clinic by the Bay. We will be doing our celebration at 10:30 this morning. Our guest will be Senator Feinstein and Congresswoman Jackie Speier. We will be joined by a couple of friends and neighbors[patients] who have used our services.

See link to article that was on the front page of the Chronicle this morning.

Monday, November 01, 2010

Small businesses need access to capital in all Investor Owned Utilities service territories. On Bill Financing which Small Business California has brought to California is one way IOU’s can get capital to small businesses for energy retrofits.

This program allows small businesses to retrofit their businesses to reduce energy use and cost and it is paid for by a 0% loan from the utility.

According to Hank Ryan our Executive Director the results to date for the three IOU’s are:

San Diego Gas has over 450 OBF loans with only 3 defaults. Southern California Edison has since July1 booked over $1.5 in small business OBF projects. As of now according to the CPUC PG&E has 10 OBF loans in the hopper but none to small business.

PG&E clearly needs to do better and kudos to San Diego Gas.

On Tuesday after the election I will be talking to some reporters who want to know what small business thinks of the results of the Governors race.

About Me

Small Business California is a proactive, non-partisan business advocate whose only agenda is the well being of California’s 3.2 million small businesses. Working for all small businesses for a better business environment, SB-Cal is responsive to the needs of small business owners.
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